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CNN International: Idalia Lashes Western Cuba With Heavy Rain; New Video Shows Paul Whelan In Russian Prison; Tight Security Around St. Petersburg Cemetery; Ukrainian Military Claims Further Gains On Southern Front; U.S. Commerce Secretary Meets China's Premier Li Qiang; High Court Suspends Imran Khan's Sentence; Dozens Of Young Athletes Died With Early Signs Of CTE; Ukrainians Turn To Odesa To Soothe Their Trauma. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired August 29, 2023 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[07:59:48]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London.

Just ahead, Idalia is now a Category 1 hurricane, and western Cuba is feeling the effects. Our correspondent in Havana will have an update.

Yevgeny Prigozhin lived his life on social media and battlefields, but there's secrecy surrounding any funeral plans. We're live in St. Petersburg with the latest.

[08:00:08]

And calming tensions between the two biggest world economies. The U.S. Commerce Secretary continues trade talks in Beijing.

We want everyone to take this storm seriously, that's the warning from the fire rescue chief in Tampa, Florida. As the state braces for Idalia, which is now a Category 1 hurricane, is expected to rapidly intensify before it slams into Florida's Gulf Coast on Wednesday, potentially making landfall north of Tampa. Idalia could produce a massive storm surge, heavy rain, flash flooding, tornadoes and damaging winds.

At least 10 counties have issued evacuation orders. Idalia is already lashing parts of western Cuba with heavy rain and strong winds. More than 8,000 people there have been evacuated from coastal areas.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann joins us now live from Havana with the very latest. Patrick?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Max. And it feels like a regular, somewhat wetter than usual day. But throughout the morning, we have felt these wind gusts that can knock you down, drenching bands of rain that come in as Idalia leaves Cuban waters and heads towards Florida.

And the danger is, it seems like a day you can go to work, go to school, go about your regular life, and then one of these bands of wind comes in. We've seen trees knocked down. There have been reports of electric outages to the west of us.

Here in Nevada, so far at least, I've not seen any widespread damage. But there has been some flooding. And even if Cuba has missed the worst of this storm, the fear now is that as it goes into the Straits of Florida, into the Gulf of Mexico, that is just a tinder box.

We're talking about warmer ocean water, historically warm ocean water, and that's where a hurricane gets its power from. And it's expected to increase in power dramatically as it heads towards the coast of Florida. So some flooding here, some trees down, probably in the days ahead, you'll have some buildings collapse as they dry out in the sun.

But otherwise, Cuba has been pretty lucky throughout this storm. Florida, though, it does not seem, is going to get off as lightly, Max.

FOSTER: As I understand it, the water is much warmer than usual. And that's the concern between where you are in Florida.

OPPMANN: Yes, absolutely. You know, I've lived here for 11 years. I never remember the waters being as warm as they are. And that can mean quicker strengthening of a hurricane. And that really can be fatal. That can mean the difference between you can shelter in your homes and you cannot, that your home will just disintegrate.

And we're already looking at a major hurricane, Category 3 or above. And that is where you get to this level of strength that it can just rip a roof off, it can cause the foundation of a house to disintegrate. You can have that very dangerous storm surge where the water comes rushing in, and that can just sweep people out to sea.

Incredibly, incredibly dangerous phenomenon that I've experienced in hurricanes in the past. So when you start to talk about Category 3 and above major hurricane status, that is when people really need to take very close care, need to pay close attention to what authorities are saying.

Because, of course, by the time a storm hits, it becomes too late to evacuate, becomes too late to take those precautions that you need to ahead of a very dangerous storm like this one. So it was a tropical storm this morning. It's already become a Category 1 hurricane and expect to strengthen further.

FOSTER: OK, Patrick in Havana, thank you so much for that.

Now, we rarely get a peek inside Russia's high security prisons, but there is new video today showing American Paul Whelan, who's been held by Russia since 2018. The video was shot by Russian state media in May. In it, you can see Whelan in a prison uniform, as well as images of him using a sewing machine and eating in a cafeteria. Whelan was sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison on an espionage charge he vehemently denies.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz tracking this story for us. You wonder why we're seeing this video.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think absolutely, that's the first question that comes to mind. It's the first question that will come to the mind of U.S. diplomats. According to the United States, there has been a proposal, a very serious proposal, on the table for months now, for Russia to release Paul Whelan. And so far, Russia has yet to respond to that.

When you look at that video, of course, these are images of him inside this prison. You see him in that prison uniform in various settings, but you also get to hear him very briefly, Max, speak. And I want you to take a listen to what he says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL WHELAN, AMERICAN IMPRISONED IN RUSSIA: So you understand when I say that I can't do an interview, which means I can't answer any questions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:05:11]

ABDELAZIZ: Two things we can really take away from this material here, Max. First of all, you hear him there saying, I can't do an interview. So you begin to get an understanding of how uncomfortable he was with this filming. And indeed, his brother says that Paul was surprised by this film crew showing up at the prison and that prison authorities retaliated against him for not getting involved in the filming.

But also, Max, you are seeing a Paul Whelan who looks relatively healthy, relatively well. His brother also went on to say that it was great for the family to see him because they hadn't really seen him clearly since 2020. He described the fight in his eyes when talking about Paul Whelan and said he remained unbowed.

You might remember that Secretary of State Antony Blinken did get an opportunity to speak over the phone with Paul Whelan just earlier this month, and he told him, Max, to keep the faith that the United States remains -- continues to work on getting him out safely.

But you do also have to note there is another American being held in Russian prison who is considered to be illegitimately held, and that is Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter. So a lot of work there for U.S. diplomats to try to sort out freeing these two Americans.

FOSTER: OK, Salma, thank you.

At this hour, police in St. Petersburg, Russia have a cemetery surrounded and roads sealed off. The speculation is that Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin may be laid to rest there. We still don't know the date or location of any funeral, but this particular cemetery is usually reserved for military burials. When and if that does happen, one person who's not expected is President Vladimir Putin. That's the word from the Kremlin, at least. Matthew Chance is in St. Petersburg following this story for us, what have you managed to find out, Matthew?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Max. Well, we're in St. Petersburg, but we're also in this the Serafimovskoe Cemetery which is this huge cemetery in the middle of St. Petersburg or on the outskirts of it, at least where we expect or where we think Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner leader, could be buried either later on today or possibly tomorrow.

We don't know for sure, because the trouble is there's a veil of secrecy over these arrangements, you know, and so we're trying to sort of sort of get as much access as we can and look at what evidence we can to try and determine when the funeral might take place. Certainly, there's nothing official being said to us about when it would happen.

But, of course, it was just at the weekend that the Russian investigators said that they identified his remains and had confirmed that he'd been killed on that plane crash last Wednesday. And look here, the security that has been placed outside this cemetery as well.

You've got police that have been put outside, or security forces from the Interior Ministry, in fact, and also these metal detectors. And anybody who comes through is having to unload their pockets like it was an airport or something like that, and is being searched. That's not normal in cemetery here in St Petersburg.

And so, you know, that's obviously an indication that some big kind of funeral is being planned. But again, a veil of secrecy across the whole situation. What we do know is the Kremlin who are trying to play this down have said this morning that Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, will not be attending any funeral. They're saying that it is purely a family affair.

And, you know, again, that talks to the idea that Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin, and officially they don't want to get involved in this any more than they absolutely have to. Of course, the Kremlin has dismissed as absolute lies, allegations that they were in some way involved in the plane crash that killed Yevgeny Prigozhin and nine other people last week.

But despite those denials, there's still a lot of suspicion here in Russia, elsewhere around the world as well. There could have been some kind of state involvement. And so, that's why the Kremlin are trying to distance themselves as much as possible from the next stage in this process, which is the funeral arrangements. Max?

FOSTER: Matthew Chance in St. Petersburg, thank you.

Ukraine's slow moving counteroffensive appears to be picking up some much needed momentum. Kyiv claims its forces are making further progress against Russian troops along the southern front. It comes, as the Ukrainian Defense Minister predicted, that powerful players are expected to arrive on the nation's arms market soon, with the signing of several agreements in the coming weeks.

CNN's Melissa Bell joins me now from Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine. So it is slow progress, but it is progress nevertheless, Melissa.

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. And much needed, as you say, this counteroffensive after all, Max, is nearly into its third months. And the progress that there had been to show in terms of land retrieved from the Russians had been very slim indeed, until Robotine which began to fall last week. We heard from the Ukrainian side that it had fallen entirely back into their hands only yesterday.

[08:10:01]

Now, what we're hearing from Ukrainian authorities is that the troops are advancing very slowly and yet surely towards settlements like Verbove to the southeast of that. And that's important, because if they do manage to work those way through those very substantial Russian defensive lines towards settlements like Verbove, they will be widening the piece of land that they've taken back from the Russians.

And that will give them the position to be able to entrench themselves further and hope to reach their ultimate target, which is Tokmak, that is an important logistical hub to the south of there. And another step on the roads towards Melitopol and itself on the road towards the Sea of Azov. That is their aim.

And until now it's been very difficult to see what progress was being made. Now, inch by inch, meter by meter, progress is being made. They are taking back territory. And of course, this is important, not just, as I say, in terms of the wedge of land that they hope to save from which they hope to keep, take and keep, from which they'll be able to advance further south, but it is, of course, important for momentum and morale.

They're doing this, Max, I should say, even as they're trying to defend many other points along that very long front line. And what we're hearing from Ukrainian forces is that Russia, the Russian forces have themselves got about 100,000 men now up towards Kupyansk and Liman.

They've been bringing in extra reserves to try and destabilize the Ukrainian forces on that side, even as Ukrainians concentrate on the Zaporizhzhia line. So a very long stretch of frontline, including at Bakhmut, where the fighting has been fierce again as a Ukrainian -- Russian, rather, counteroffensive tried to take back some of that town that had lost to Ukrainian forces.

Even as that is happening, Ukrainian forces are able to make some progress. And I think that is important even as they look, as you say, to further weapons shipments from their allies. Because what they say is that they will only make this progress if they keep getting the artillery, the ammunition specifically that they need to be able to keep making that progress. Max?

FOSTER: Melissa in Zaporizhzhia, thank you so much for that.

Now, a few hours ago, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, where the two agreed that well maintained economic relations between the U.S. and China are beneficial for the whole world.

It is Raimondo's second full day of talks in Beijing aimed at strengthening economic relations between the world's two most powerful economies. Premier Li called for the U.S. to show more, quote, sincerity towards China, while Raimondo called for cooperation on a host of issues.

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout monitoring the visit from Hong Kong, joins me now live. Lots of political issues which they can't agree on, but there are economic issues they can agree on, aren't they?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. They came to the fore earlier today in Beijing, when the U.S. Commerce Secretary, Gina Raimondo, met with the Chinese premier as she seeks to shore up ties between the U.S. and China, the world's two biggest economies.

Now, speaking in the Great Hall of the People in the Chinese capital, we heard from the Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who said this -- let's bring up the quotation for you. He said, "Economic and trade relations are the ballast for Sino-U.S. relations. A well-maintained economic and trade relationship is beneficial to both countries and the whole world", unquote.

Now, Raimondo agreed with Li. And she went onto say that the U.S. wants to work with China on global concerns like climate and artificial intelligence. Earlier this day, she met with China's Vice Premier He Lifeng and she reemphasized that message that we keep hearing from senior Biden administration officials that the U.S. does not want to decouple from China, but will not compromise on national security.

Now, Raimondo also met with the Tourism Minister of China. They agreed on these steps to further revive, develop tourism between the two countries. And on Monday, U.S. and China agreed to hold regular talks on a range of trade issues, including that sticky issue of export controls.

Now, this visit comes at a time of very deep concern about the Chinese economy. China is facing slumping exports, deflation, a deepening property crisis, the list goes on. And Raimondo is the latest senior U.S. official to visit China as the U.S. tries to stabilize this critical relationship because tensions have flared over trade, over access to tech like chips. But given China's economic troubles, the pressure is on to stabilize this relationship.

Back to you, Max.

FOSTER: OK. Kristie in Hong Kong, thank you so much.

A Pakistani court has suspended the three-year sentence given to former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The court granted Khan's appeal and has allowed him to post bail, though it's not clear when he might be released from prison. Khan was convicted of corruption for selling state gifts whilst in office. He still faces several other charges.

Still to come, a new study highlights the risk of brain trauma on young amateur athletes. What the largest ever study in neurodegenerative disease on young people reveals?

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[08:17:02]

FOSTER: A new study from Boston University has discovered more than 60 cases of a traumatic injury, also known as CTE, in athletes who were younger than 30 years old when they died. This is the largest study to look at the neurodegenerative disease in young people, which is associated with repeated head trauma.

The researchers evaluated 152 donated brains and found evidence of the disease in more than 60 of them. That included in those of athletes who never played professionally at a high level.

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been covering this issue for years. Of course, I mean, you've seen lots of studies like this, Sanjay, but what do you think of this?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, one of the things I think, Max, will point out just right away is that the brains that were donated were from people who had significant symptoms throughout their life. And I point that out at the outset, Max, because I think I don't want people to walkaway saying 40 percent of people who play even amateur sports like football, are going to develop CTE.

That's not what this study is showing. But I think the concern here is just how early in life CTE can develop as teenagers, people in their 20s, that's the real concern. So these were people between the ages of 17 and 29. The majority were amateur athletes.

And again, of those brains, of people who had symptoms, 40 percent did show CTE. Just a reminder, Max, CTE is chronic traumatic encephalopathy. It's an Alzheimer's like sort of syndrome of symptoms. People develop memory loss and confusion and depression, suicidal behavior.

In fact, in this group, Max, about 150 people or so, suicide was the most common form of death, cause of death here. So people died, they had their brains donated, and this is what they found.

FOSTER: What's your feeling about the 17-year-old? It seems so incredibly young. Do you think this was an exception, or is this just showing how serious the condition can be?

GUPTA: I think it's the latter. I mean, you know, I mean, I was actually in the lab the day that Nathan Stiles, his brain, had been donated after he had died. He had had an incredible football game. His incredible football player had run 165 yards in a first half of a game, took a significant blow to the head, subsequently died. His brain was donated.

I looked at his brain under the microscope with Ann McKee, who runs this particular lab. And what they saw, what we saw were signs of changes in the brain there, right there, what you're looking at. Those brown spots, those are tau proteins. If I didn't know anything else, I would have thought I was looking at the brain of someone who is in their 70s or 80s. So that's the real concern.

When people develop symptoms from CTE, that may be later in life. But the fact that these brain changes can occur so early in life, I think that's what the study is showing.

FOSTER: Yes, of course. There are lots of athletes who have very successful careers and they're sort of banged around a lot and they don't develop CTE. Why do you think some do, some don't?

[08:20:06]

GUPTA: That is the big question, I think, you know, for these brain labs have been sort of studying this for decades now, and I think they're still sort of trying to figure out that question. Is there some sort of genetic predisposition perhaps? Is there environmental consideration perhaps? Don't know.

But one thing to keep in mind is people think about concussions sort of being the instigator of this, and they can be. But typically what you find it's these more subconcussive hits. If you look at what happens to the brain when you're actually having some of these hits, the brain is accelerating.

For example, down the field in a football game and then suddenly decelerates, the brain keeps moving and stretching. So it's not so much the blow to the head as it is the stretching and changing of the brain at the time. So doing anything you can to sort of reduce that seems to make a difference as well.

FOSTER: OK. Sanjay, really appreciate your time today. Thank you for bringing us that.

GUPTA: You got it.

FOSTER: Coming up, life during wartime. Ukrainians looking for some normalcy are flocking to the beach this summer. But the threat of violence is never far away.

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FOSTER: The Ukrainian city of Odesa, on the Black Sea, has been hit hard in the past few weeks. Russian missiles have targeted the vital port, which was home to two-thirds of Ukraine's imports and exports before the war. The city was also a thriving holiday destination. And Ukrainians are flocking to its beaches this summer to recover from the trauma and wounds of war.

CNN's Christiane Amanpour reports.

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CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): In the waning days of a second summer at war, under the blazing Black Sea sun, you find, well, people at the beach. It's actually the first time some of this Odesa coastline has been open for business since the Russian invasion.

And while Olga (ph) brought her family for a change of scenery, there is no getting away from it.

(on-camera): Here, can you forget the war for a little bit?

OLGA (through translation): Sirens at night don't let you forget. No, we don't forget. At least I don't. But I hope my kids and parents get distracted a little bit.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): Still, those who can make the most of it. Life goes on, even in war time. And here at the Caleton Beach Club, it's somehow comforting to watch parents slap protective gear onto their infants as if sunburn is the worst that can happen. But of course, it's not.

(on-camera): So, is it -- is that -- does that mean orthopedics or anything?

(voice-over): Fifteen minutes away in the center of town is a modern, private recovery and rehabilitation unit, one of 10 set up around the country by a Ukrainian philanthropist.

Here in a full body sling, 41-year-old Vitali (ph) tells us that he volunteered for the front as a deminer, until he was blown up by an anti-personnel mine eight months ago in Kherson.

[08:25:00]

The first wave hit my face because I was bending down, he says, and shrapnel entered my eye. Another bit hit my finger and three of my toes were blown off.

On the rehab bed next to him, 43-year-old Ruslan's (ph) injury is less dramatic, spine and back problems from suddenly having to haul heavy gear around.

(on-camera): Do you need to get into better shape?

(voice-over): If I was 20, he tells me, it would be different. But I'm 43 and so, it's difficult. But he wants to go back to the front like Vitali (ph) does just as soon as they're patched up. Still motivated, still sure of victory. But then, the talk suddenly turns.

(on-camera): Vitali?

VITALI: Yes?

AMANPOUR (on-camera): What do you think you need?

(voice-over): Immobilized and prone, he's crystal clear. We need more weapons and jets to close the sky from the Russian missiles, he says. When a soldier is fighting there and his family is here unprotected, what do you think goes through our minds?

Andri (ph) tells me his psychological trauma is worse than the shrapnel to his hand. Because he, like all of them, want to be back at the front with their comrades to fight for their country and their family.

I have a mother, a father, a wife and a cat, he tells me.

Back at the seaside, Sergei (ph), a 59-year-old conscript based in Kherson. defends his beach team break.

(on-camera): In the middle of war, you don't feel strange?

SERGEI: Yes. It's mostly likely a little bit strange, but we need some direction.

AMANPOUR (voice-over): He'll be back under arms after his 15-day furlough. But he insists their counteroffensive is going to according to plan.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Odesa, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Thanks for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London. World Sport with Amanda Davies is up next.

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[08:30:00]